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Austin Seek Ruling on Agreements
Page 55
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MANUFACTU.RERS of commercial vehicles and cars last week followed closely a test case in the Chancery Division involving the Austin . Motor Co., Ltd., The company were seeking a declaration from Mr. Justice Upton that the agreements under which they sold their cars were not registerable under the Restrictive Practices Act.
Mr. Guy Aldous, for Austin's, said that 18 similar applications by other companies were being held over until the present case had been disposed of. The company had 5,173 agreements with dealers and distributors, and the British Motor Corporation, the parent company, had 12,778. If other car manufacturers were taken into consideration, there would be 100,000 agreements to be registered, if they were registerable.
He claimed that the Act did not apply in their case, because there was no exchange of promises and no mutuality. It was, therefore, not possible to say that there were multi-party agreements. The dealers and distributors were only carrying out their respective agreements with the company.
Sir Harry Hylton Foster. Q.C., representiug the Registrar of Restrictive Trading Agreements, said that it was the general pattern of the COrilrtany'S agreements with distributors, dealers and other traders which was registerable, rather than one agreement by itself.
Where there was mutual consent in the acceptance of restrictions there was an " arrangement," which was registerable under the Act.
Mr. Aldous said that if the Judge would extend the period for registration until the end of July the company would cancel their agreentent1S and introduce new ones.
Judgment was reserved.